The English Teacher

Viewpoints to Strengthen Teaching Strategies


The manner in which a teacher views the students and the task of teaching subtly permeates all of a teacher's plans. Below are some suggestions to follow to help the teacher's formation of strategies for teaching.


Don't humiliate any student or strive for power for power's sake. You can exercise power to have an orderly class and a good teaching environment, but don't exercise power because you like the feeling of power. If you are polite to your students, they will be polite to you, or at least realize that they should be polite, even if they are unable to act as well as you do.

Respect your students for their potential.

Always address their bad "actions" not their bad "selves." Their actions can change.

Have patience when appropriate; remember they will grow up.

Get energy from students learning, i.e.. having the "lights go on."

Get enough sleep. Get -Enough- sleep.

Treat every student fairly. When you have students who cause discipline problems, don't give them preferential treatment such as not expecting them to do basic work, allowing them to talk back, and make a project of reforming them, etc.. After 14 weeks usually you are kicking them out. [If you don't follow this advice and allow exceptions, still document the student's actions... so when you decide you have had enough, you don't have to start then to make a disciplinary record.]

Every day do something good for someone, not necessarily a student, who can't pay you back.

Learn something new every year so your students don't have to listen to the same stuff. Keep in shape physically. Don't take yourself too seriously.

You can not "save" everyone in your class... don't be loaded down with that one.

You may some day be the thing that "saves" a student, but it may not be the student you thought it was or in the way that you thought it would happen.

Learn from others, borrow, be teachable,, Don't expect to know more than all of your students.... don't expect to know all things. Be humble.


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